That race showed that Lomong can beat Niyongabo's 5000m best. But, no, he is not the miler Niyongabo was. He is another potentially very strong 1500m runner converted to 5000m.
That race showed that Lomong can beat Niyongabo's 5000m best. But, no, he is not the miler Niyongabo was. He is another potentially very strong 1500m runner converted to 5000m.
Lomong has not run a 1500m as fast as niyongabo but he also is finally training fulltime. I would bet that he can or will go sub 3:30 in 2012.
Lagat ran well when he was trying to peak. Look back at results from previous years. Multiple occasions of Lagat running poorly in non-championship situations, then looking great when it mattered. I think that Lomong's result in the 3000 was actually considered good for him at the time. Like I said before, he may be a different runner now, but I would still give Lagat heavy odds to win the trials.
rojo wrote:
The original poster is referring to our weekly recap here:
http://www.letsrun.com/2012/week-0503.phpI'm not sure that JK meant they are the same - but that comparison is what jumped out at him in the sense of here is a 1,500 guy who sort of hops into a 5k and is amazing at it right away.
Venuste, Lagat and now Lomong.
If you don't think he's a medal contender. You don't understand the sport. Sorry.
But I will agree with ou that he hasn't "shown" it yet. But I think he will.
Speaking of Venuste, I can't believe that the Olympic 5k champ didn't run another 5k until 4 years later but that's what tilastapaja says. Can that be true?
Does anyone know why he didn't do more 5ks afterwards?
Also what made him do the 5k in Atlanta over something else?
Lomong has the possibility to become a medal contender, but he has shown nothing that makes him one yet. He can kick 4200m into a 5k while being on 13:2x pace, but that is vastly different than kicking equally fast or faster 4600m in on sub-13 pace. The vast majority of at least 10+ guys (Bekele, Farah, Lagat, Rupp, Kipchoge, Soi, Merga, Gebremeskel, Chepkok, Jeilan, Koech, Longisiwa, etc) would probably beat him somewhere around 7 to 9 times out of 10 in virtually any race situation. Even if a few of these guys aren't in the race and Lomong is genuinely a 13-flat runner (this is probably true), the odds are outrageously low that he would get a medal, much less a gold as you discussed in that article. Don't get me wrong, I was very impressed by Lomong's run, but I give him no better than a 1 in 50 shot of medaling (I'm not even confident he'll make the team... Lagat is the only sure-thing qualifier right now...), and no better than 1 in 500 of winning. If you count that as being a contender, then sure, he's a contender.
Two names that just roll off the tongue--
Hassiba Boulmerca and Venuste Niyongabo
We're not even sure Lomong can double back after the semi's yet. Like many have said it's all speculation. Luckily for Lomong, Centro was being written off from even winning the NCAA's last year, shortly before his splash at the WC.
Raptured, I have a strong feeling that you will get on letsrun right after the 5,000m final (or possibly the 1500m final) and say you were wrong. I say he medals and possibly wins and all the talk on letsrun the next day will be about this stunning victory which I am calling right now. If that doesn't happen then I will get on here and call you the expert and give you kudos. Enjoy the show!
schlepp wrote:
Raptured, I have a strong feeling that you will get on letsrun right after the 5,000m final (or possibly the 1500m final) and say you were wrong. I say he medals and possibly wins and all the talk on letsrun the next day will be about this stunning victory which I am calling right now. If that doesn't happen then I will get on here and call you the expert and give you kudos. Enjoy the show!
I am on here a lot and certainly will be during the Olympics. While I said that I cannot be certain that he will make the 5k team, I believe he will, and my top pick for the 5000m team would be Lagat, Rupp, Lomong. That said, he will not medal. I'll be happy to be called out if he does, but he won't.
rojo wrote:
If you don't think he's a medal contender. You don't understand the sport. Sorry.
But I will agree with ou that he hasn't "shown" it yet. But I think he will.
huh? he is a contender but he hasn't shown it?
We've learned two things here:
1. The Brojos seem to have a company policy of saying ridiculous things just to get attention and start some chatter on these boards.
2. Training in a group with other awesome runners is much more beneficial than trying to hack it on your own. Of course, this isn't news, but American elites seem to have trouble figuring out that simple principle. Rupp before Farah? Hall? Ritz with Hudson? Is it that hard to figure out?
Another example of a runner who is obviously superior to Lomong is Augustine Choge. In 2009, Choge ran 1:44.86, 3:29.47 and 13:00. Choge of course had previously broken 13. Choge finished 5th in Berlin at the WC 1500 in 2009. I suppose he would have been a medal contender had he been in the 5000m, but Choge is much closer to Niyongabo caliber than Lomong is.
and lomong was right behind choge in berlin. I think it is foolish to say Lomong is just a 13:11 guy. That race was obviously not as fast as he can go. It just happened to be as fast as he needed to go on that day - his first real 5k ever. If you think he could not have dropped it down a lot further with how easily he was running 64's then you are a fool. Lomong may go into the Olympics with a 13:11 pb but that does not mean that he could not go faster.
hilarious!!!! wrote:
and lomong was right behind choge in berlin. I think it is foolish to say Lomong is just a 13:11 guy. That race was obviously not as fast as he can go. It just happened to be as fast as he needed to go on that day - his first real 5k ever. If you think he could not have dropped it down a lot further with how easily he was running 64's then you are a fool. Lomong may go into the Olympics with a 13:11 pb but that does not mean that he could not go faster.
Lomong was 8th in Berlin, over a second behind the 5th place Choge. However, that is not germane here. Choge is a superior runner, and it is not debatable. Of course Lomong could have run faster than 13:11 last weekend. So what? Lomong is a very good runner, but he is not a medal contender, unless we're deciding that somebody who is likely to finish closer to 10th than 3rd is a medal contender.
ventolin^3 wrote:
rojo wrote:Also what made him do the 5k in Atlanta over something else?In '95/'96, the heirs apparent to Morceli were Hicham & V-Man.
They raced each other a lot in '95/'96 & IIRC Hicham whupped him every time, with his typical race pattern of kicking at 400 out & not being caught ( albeit times weren't spectacular - best was 3'29 )
Hicham dished out most thumpings to him in '96 & it was pretty obvious V-man knew he had no chance to win gold in 1500 & just moved up to the 5k for Atlanta. I don't know if he had any 5k background worth mentioning in Atlanta; my impression was he was a "pure" 1500 guy who had just moved up to the 5k for this 1 race ( + heats ).
His only hope was for a slow race & for him to kick to the win.
If Komen had been running & likely wouda run <12'50 solo, V-man wouda been completely dead & buried, but selectors woudn't pick Komen ( who showed his prowess late season with a little matter of 7'20.67 ).
V-man was very lucky that year - slow 5k with no Komen or Geb, who had blisters after the 10k & DNS the 5k.
His 5k win shoud be considered more a footnote in the sport rather than celebrated like a red-letter day.
As I recall he ran the 5k so that a country man could run the the 1500 at the Olymoics. I'll have go to through my TFN to back this post. I do not believe he was afraid to race anyone.
LL reminded me of VN, I do believe he has a chance. He looked so smooth, even with FU on the lap count. If I was he id run the 5k...best chance at medal.
Raptured wrote:
I give him no better than a 1 in 50 shot of medaling (I'm not even confident he'll make the team... Lagat is the only sure-thing qualifier right now...), and no better than 1 in 500 of winning. If you count that as being a contender, then sure, he's a contender.
Why do I feel like it's 5/3/11 and you're talking about Centrowitz?
oldoldrunner wrote:As I recall he ran the 5k so that a country man could run the the 1500 at the Olymoics. I'll have go to through my TFN to back this post. I do not believe he was afraid to race anyone
what ?
they had a 3'28 guy in burundi back in '96 to include ???
If Lopez does medal, which I think he can, It is more likely to be gold than anything else.
I don't get it. Guy runs 1 5K and is suddenly a gold medal contender. Typical BroJo double talk....He's a contender, but hasn't shown it yet.
I'm afraid I don't understand this sport. Sorry.
Niyongabo did indeed give up his place to his countryman Dieudonne Kwizera in the 1500m in Atlanta. According to David Wallechinsky ('The complete book of the Olympics'), Niyongabo had run two 5000m races before Atlanta. As for Kwizera, he is truly inspiring: both in 1988 and 1992 he attempted to enter the Olympics in the 1500. Because Burundi did not have an Olympic Committee at the time, Kwizera and others set one up with money they had won from running in Europe as the story goes. Kwizera did not qualify for the Olympics in 1996, but was still chosen as the flag-bearer in the opening ceremonies anyway. He was allowed to enter the heats of the 1500 meters in lieu of Niyongabo. As Wallechinsky reports, Kwizera crossed the line with a big smile on his face (even though he had not qualified to move on) and kissed the track afterwards.
I don't think Lomong is a legitimate medal threat yet, so I clearly don't know the sport.